Q&A with DTW23 sponsor Microsoft’s Silvia Candiani
Following DTW23 - Ignite in Copenhagen between 19 and 21 September, Data Centre Magazine sat down with event speaker Silvia Candiani, Vice President Telecommunications at Microsoft - which sponsored the event - about the changing state of telecommunications in the face of AI’s growing adoption.
The three-day event by TM Forum at the Bella Center in the Danish capital allowed the collective ingenuity, innovation, and collaboration of the global community to lead the communications industry to growth.
Please introduce yourself and your role
I’m Silvia Candiani, the Vice President of Telecommunications for Worldwide Media and Comms at Microsoft. In my role leading the telecom industry, I own the overall growth strategy, product, partner, and GTM prioritisation. With 13 years of experience at Microsoft my career has spanned many roles, most recently serving as the Country GM for Microsoft Italy, where I worked toward the mission of accelerating the digital transformation of Italian companies, institutions, and society. Prior to Microsoft, I spent over a decade at Vodafone and several years at McKinsey.
How did you come to work in the data centre industry?
I started working at Microsoft 13 years ago because I saw IT as the driving force in the
digitisation of all industries and wanted to be at the forefront of the technological advancements that are shaping our world. In that respect I have seen the impact that tech can have on the economy and society.
In a data centre capacity, what does Microsoft do?
Microsoft has highly secure data centre facilities spread across the world, creating a distributed data centre infrastructure that supports thousands of online services. This globally distributed infrastructure is designed with sustainability in mind to bring applications closer to users, preserve data residency, and offer comprehensive compliance and resiliency options for customers. Microsoft data centres are built on the resilient foundation of the Azure platform, where world-class global infrastructure meets and exceeds our platform reliability commitments, including providing financially backed service-level agreements (SLAs) per service.
What key trend/s are you finding most interesting currently?
I am fascinated by AI technology, particularly generative AI (GenAI). GenAI provides a promising avenue for telecom companies to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. Microsoft enables telcos to embrace AI for business opportunities and operational enhancements.
How important is it to sponsor and support events like DTW23? And to empower growth across the data centre industry?
It is critical to sponsor and support events like DTW23 to foster connections, showcase innovation, and learn from one another. At DTW23, Microsoft will share a multitude of AI applications in the telecom sector and will be exhibiting the latest cloud and AI tech along with our partners.
What impact has AI had on your job/business/the wider industry? How do you see this developing in the future?
AI has revolutionised my role, Microsoft as a business, and the telecommunications industry as whole – and it doesn’t stop there. Every employee and every industry has the potential to be impacted by AI. AI can improve productivity and job satisfaction by reducing menial work and allowing more time for thought-provoking and creative tasks. Increased cost savings, efficiency, and cybersecurity are other impacts of AI. In telco specifically, we have already seen improvements in customer service with chatbots, refined network operations, and enhanced marketing strategies as a direct result of AI. We see endless opportunities for AI transformation with the Microsoft Cloud to continue to develop in the future. This includes amplifying human ingenuity with a copilot for everyone, delivering transformational experiences by building your own intelligent apps, and safeguarding your businesses and data.
What does the future look like for Microsoft, your work and the wider industry?
The future is bright for Microsoft. It is exciting to see our mission come to life in the era of AI, as we work towards our mission of empowering every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. I look forward to seeing the ways our employees, partners, and customers leverage our technology to build a better future.
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